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AWR1843AOPEVM: AWR1843AOPEVM CLI demo comands to make configurations and differences respect to AWR1843BOOST

Victor
Prodigy 80 points
Part Number: AWR1843AOPEVM
Other Parts Discussed in Thread: AWR1843AOP, AWR1843BOOST, AWR1843

Hi,

I have recently bought the AWR1843AOPEVM, i was able to run the demo with the mmwave demo visualizer and make some tests with the targets in an open field. The radar looks fine and it is working as expected. However i have some questions:

First question:

I want to work with the radar with different configurations, i see that here  C:/ti/mmwave_sdk_03_05_00_04/packages/ti/demo/xwr18xx/mmw/docs/doxygen/html/index.html there is information about the demo but i was not able to find a document where i can see which parameters from the radar i can set up. More in detail, i would like to know how to change the different frame parameters to  have the best range or range resolution ( i see that there is an option in the visualizer but i want to have the full control trough the messages sent it trough the port). The Messages like:

mmwDemo:/>adcbufCfg -1 0 1 1 1
Done

mmwDemo:/>profileCfg 0 77 267 7 57.14 0 0 70 1 256 5209 0 0 30
Done

I see there is some examples here C:\ti\mmwave_sdk_03_05_00_04\packages\ti\demo\xwr18xx\mmw\profiles and the mmWave Demo Visualizer pdf document SWRU529C but there is no a proper explanation of each of the numbers.

I was able to send these CLI commands using python through corresponding COM port but i still do not understand some of them.

Second question

A second question is related to the tx power, i see in the datasheet that the power is 16 dbm, is this the maximum power? is this fixed or can be changed in the configuration? When i use the demo, is the radar using this 16 dbm?

As for my application i want to detect small objects, has it sense to use an external amplifier with the AWR1843AOPEVM? Should i need then to get the raw data to be able to use an amplifier?

Third question

I want to know the main differences respect to the AWR1843BOOST (which uses the AWR1843 instead of the AWR1843AOP). From the datasheets i see it looks like the only difference is the Txpower of the chip and the RX noise figure. Are there more differences?

For my application i need to detect objects in movement (i do not care about their velocity but at least to detect them) and i read in this link (https://e2e.ti.com/support/sensors-group/sensors/f/sensors-forum/993522/ti-s-awr1843aop-now-available) that the AWR1843AOPEVM is "optimzed for static targets". This means that is not good to detect moving objects? should i go for the AWR1843BOOST or the performance will be similar?

Many thanks in advance,

Regards,

Victor

  • 0
    TI__Guru*** 148704 points

    Hi,

    First Question

    The description of the cli cmds is provided in the mmWave SDK UG.

    C:\ti\mmwave_sdk_03_05_00_04\docs\mmwave_sdk_user_guide.pdf

    Second Question

    Yes, when you use the demo the max tx power is used. It is possible to decrease the power through sw configuration but not to increase it.

    It is possible to enable all 3Tx at the same time. This will send more power to the target.

    Third Question

    The AWR1843BOOST antenna was designed to provide better performance in azimuth than elevation.

    The AWR1843AOP antenna was designed to provide similar performance in azimuth and elevation.

    This means that for an application where azimuth information is more important the BOOST antenna will have better performance.

    The AOP antenna is good for moving and static objects. The announcement you refer to emphasized that the sw released for aop (the obstacle detection demo) is optimized for static detection

    thank you

    Cesar

  • 0 in reply to Cesar
    Prodigy 80 points

    Hi Cesar,

    Thanks for your quick answers...just some clarifications.

    Cesar said:

    The description of the cli cmds is provided in the mmWave SDK UG.

    Thanks, is there more information about that. i asume is the table in point 3.4.

    Cesar said:

    It is possible to enable all 3Tx at the same time. This will send more power to the target.

    How do i do that? with the comand channelCfg ? Does the following explanation refer to use 3 tx antennas? "The azimuth and elevation antennas can both be enabled using bitmask 0x7 (i.e. tx1, tx2 and tx3)."

    Many thanks and kind regards,

    Victor

  • 0 in reply to Victor
    TI__Guru*** 148704 points

    Hi,

    I recommend you start your evaluation with the mmWave SDK demo.

    What type of object are you trying to detect? How far?

    The mmWave SDK demo does not support enabling all 3Tx.

    If you want to enable 3Tx, we can discuss later

    thank you

    Cesar

  • 0 in reply to Cesar
    Prodigy 80 points

    Hi Cesar,

    Many thanks for your quick answer and help.

    I´ve already started with the mmwave SDK demo (C:\ti\mmwave_sdk_03_05_00_04\packages\ti\demo\xwr18xx\mmw\ xwr18xx_mmw_aop_demo.bin) and it works fine. I have detected a car more than 60 meters and everything is workings as expected. I am happy and fine with this part.

    I have started to work directly in python and the UART packages sending first the configuration trough the CLI commands and afterwards i am able to parse all the data returned (detected points, range/noise profiles, etc...). therefore i can work directly with the data.

    Now i want to understand better the CLI commands in order to be able to enable the 3TX to get more power as you suggest.

    Cesar said:

    The mmWave SDK demo does not support enabling all 3Tx.

    What do you mean? Is there no CLI command even if i send it directly by CLI commands (not with the visualizer) ?

    Then, How can I configure the system to get the 3tx and get more power? should i use a different bin file? Should i generate and compile a new program in c?

    Many thanks and kind regards,

    Victor

  • 0 in reply to Victor
    TI__Guru*** 148704 points

    The mmWave SDK demo does not support enabling all 3Tx for AWR1843AOP.

    There is not a specific demo available for that purpose.

    As a work around to allow you to evaluate 3TX you will need to use the following demo provided in the Automotive Toolbox on the TI Resource Explorer

    labs\lab0007_medium_range_radar

    In a Chrome Browser open following link to download the Automotive Toolbox

    https://dev.ti.com/tirex/explore/node?a=VLyFKFf__1.0.4&a=VLyFKFf__4.8.0&node=AFeCagqbt7.hu2lHOXE4eA__AocYeEd__LATEST

    By default the MRR demo supports MRR and USRR subframes.

    \labs\lab0007_medium_range_radar\src\common\mrr_config_consts.h

    Update as follows

    /**! @brief The multi-mode Radar mode of operation. */
    //#define SUBFRAME_CONF_MRR_USRR                   /* Two subframes, MRR followed by USRR20. */
    /**! @brief The USRR only mode of operation. */
    //#define SUBFRAME_CONF_USRR                   /* One subframe USRR20. */
    /**! @brief The MRR only mode of operation. */
     #define SUBFRAME_CONF_MRR

     

    You need to rebuild the demo in CCS using the CCS projectspec provided in the src folder to support only MRR subframes. In order to rebuild the demo please follow directions provided in the

    \labs\lab0007_medium_range_radar\docs\MediumRangeRadar_DeveloperGuide.pdf

    After rebuilding the demo, please flash the binaries and use the GUI provided in the

    \lab0007_medium_range_radar\gui

    Thank you

    Cesar

  • 0 in reply to Cesar
    Prodigy 80 points

    Hi Cesar,

    Thanks a lot for the suggestion. I will try to follow these steps to evaluate the  3TX antennas.

    As more general question, is there another example more suitable for long distances? I mean, is the "ab0007_medium_range_radar\" the best example i can follow in order to get the best possible range distance with the AWR1843AOP ?

    As i said previously, my first tests to detect small object with the mmwave demo were not satisfactory and i am wondering what is the best configuration to try to maximize the possibilities to detect small objects (such as for example enable the 3 tx to get more output power)

    Many thanks in advance and kind regards,

    Victor

  • 0 in reply to Victor
    TI__Guru*** 148704 points

    Yes, this is the best example for long range. It includes a 120m chirp config.

    What objects are you trying to detect and what range?

    Thank you

    Cesar

  • 0 in reply to Cesar
    Prodigy 80 points

    Hi Cesar,

    Cesar said:

    Yes, this is the best example for long range. It includes a 120m chirp config.

    Just as a comparison, which chirp config (in meters) includes the mmwave demo when i select the option "best range" in the "Desirable configuration" ?

    Cesar said:

    What objects are you trying to detect and what range?

    I am trying to detect different types of drones, the goal is to check how far i can detect the drones. Of course, this will depend on the type, size, orientation, etc...but at least i want to have the "best possible" range configuration. I do not care so much about range resolution as the idea is only to detect one drone "as far as possible"

    I will try the configuration that you suggest (in case i have problems i let you know here). If you have any suggestion for this application is more than welcome. Slight smile

    Many thanks and kind regards,

    Victor

  • 0 in reply to Victor
    TI__Guru*** 148704 points

    Hi,

    The mmWave Demo Visualizer computes the chirp configuration based on the user input. Since it has to make some tradeoffs when the the chirp configuration is created, it will use the input from "Desirable configuration" to optimize for best range or best velocity.

    The 120m configuration I mentioned previously should be the best for long range.

    Good luck with your project

    thank you

    Cesar

  • 0 in reply to Cesar
    Prodigy 80 points

    Hi Cesar,

    I think we misunderstood each other. I know that the "desirable conjuration" optimize the configuration. My question was different.

    You said that the example "ab0007_medium_range_radar\" is the best example for long range and has a chirp configuration of 120m for this example. is this right?

    Ok, now my question is ...for the mmwave demo i used ( the one you said i can not use the 3 tx at the same time), when i select "best range", which chirp configuration is selected? I know that the demo make "the optimized configuration", but i want to compare the chirp configuration i have with the mmwave demo respect to the one i can get with the example  "ab0007_medium_range_radar\".

    In case you do not know it exactlly does not matter, it was just to have an idea about the expected performance improvement for the use of the example "ab0007_medium_range_radar\" instead of the " mmwave demo"

    sorry If i did not explain well before ...hope now is clear the question...

    Regards,

    Victor

  • 0 in reply to Victor
    TI__Guru*** 148704 points

    Hi,

    With the mmWave Demo Visualizer, you can save the chirp configuration that is created and compare the 120m chirp configuration.

    One of the reasons the 120m chirp configuration is better is because in the mmWave demo it is not possible to use the entire 1MB L3RAM for radar cube because the detMatrix is also stored in L3RAM. So performance is limited.

    Thank you
    Cesar

  • 0 in reply to Cesar
    Prodigy 80 points

    Hi Cesar,

    Thanks a lot for your suggestions, i will try the example "ab0007_medium_range_radar" and compare the results with the mmWAve Demo.

    Regards,

    Victor